And behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought a Midianitish woman to his brethren, in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of the whole assembly of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Israel had just been blessed through Balaam's mouth, and now the same people were joined to idols while judgment fell. Then one man walked into that scene with a Midianite woman, in plain view of Moses and the weeping camp.
The seduction was not a chance romance. It was a plan, tried after cursing had failed.
God had intervened to bless Israel when Moab was anxious to curse them. So the immorality of the men with the women of Moab was senseless and out of place. The Moabites invited them to the sacrifices made to their gods, and they joined in their idolatrous worship. Numbers 31:16 shows that Balaam's advice prompted it. He was Satan's cunning tool, for when Satan cannot defeat God's people, he will befriend and corrupt them, if they will listen to his subtle schemes.
Two things should have stopped this man: the Lord's word, and the sound of his own people crying at the tabernacle door. Neither did.
An Israelite man was totally insensible to the Lord's word and to the weeping of the people at the door of the tabernacle. He boldly brought a Midianite woman to present her before the congregation (v.6).
The verse stresses where it happened — "in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation." Sin here had stopped hiding. Older translations read that he brought her "to his brothers" where the ESV has "to his family."
He brought this woman, and it says he brought her to his brothers. It is as if we were here now and a well-known believer brought a worldly woman right into the middle of the gathering. This is the scene we have here: right in the middle. Not in a corner. Not hidden from public view or from the saints. It is right in the middle of the assembly… The children of Israel were weeping before God. Something was happening among the saints. There was a feeling that God required something of us — that we needed to repent and get down in weeping before God. And here they were, weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. In the middle of that, and despite that, this man came with this Midianite woman right in the face of the assembly, in the face of the authority of the Lord and of Moses.
What drew this man in was not something crude that anyone would condemn. That is what made it dangerous.
I believe this Midianite woman was a princess, or very close to it. She was a woman of renown… It is easy for us to judge vulgar, crude and base things. Even a man of the world would say that base things are wrong. But with refined things connected with culture, we tend to lack discernment. We fail to notice what slips in quietly and pleasantly to turn our thoughts and our hearts away from the Lord.
Two right reactions appear among those not caught in the evil. This verse shows the first.
Balaam did not succeed in defeating God's purpose. But he did seduce many, and so brought severe punishment on them. Those not involved in the sin showed grief, as we see in verse 6. Phinehas showed zeal for the glory of God. Twenty-four thousand of the people died, and it also brought a sentence of death on the Midianites at the hand of Israel.
Phinehas was a priest, not a soldier. He acted because the men whose job it was did not.
Phinehas stood up. With a javelin he killed the couple who were bringing such dishonour on Israel, and God commended him for his action. As a priest he ought not to have had a weapon of war in his hand. There were others to do the fighting, but sadly they failed. So Phinehas stood up, jealous for God, jealous to do what was right for God, and he acted in a way that earned God's approval. Sometimes standing for what is right means taking drastic action. That is true in our own lives, and among the children of God.
- Snare. When the enemy cannot curse God's people, he befriends and corrupts them. Balaam's advice worked where cursing failed.
- Shamelessness. This sin happens in the open, in front of Moses and the whole congregation. He is deaf to the Lord's word and to the tears of His people.
- Subtlety. The bait was a woman of rank, not something crude. We are slow to judge refined temptations.
- Sorrow. Those untouched by the evil grieved at the tabernacle door. Grief over the sin of others is the first right response.
- Stand. Zeal completes what grief begins. One man acted when others failed, and God approved him.
And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and rose up from among the assembly, and took a javelin in his hand,
Israel had just fallen into the worship of Baal-peor. A plague was killing the people. The whole assembly stood weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting, while a leader of Israel paraded his sin in front of them. Then one man moved. This verse records what he saw and what he took in his hand.
Balaam's curses could not touch Israel, so he suggested something else. The plan looked reasonable: keep the Lord, and add Baal-peor beside Him.
To put Jehovah and Baal-peor on the throne together is to insult God and consecrate Satan. Thankfully no one can keep this up for long, and Balaam knew that well. But he also knew that the attempt itself would do more to destroy Israel than his whole stock of curses.
The verse notes two things: he saw, and he got up. Seeing carries a cost, and most of us look for a way around it.
He saw it. Maybe we have seen things and turned a blind eye to them. We do not want the responsibility of dealing honestly with what we have seen. Instead we hope it will go away with time... "Well, yes, I saw, but I am a young man, so I will not deal with this matter — let the elders deal with it." Did Phinehas say that? ... He saw it, he rose up. He did not only see — he acted, and rose up from among the assembly.
There was no time to gather a court. The plague was already killing.
His whole life had trained him for that one blow. That blow revealed his whole character — zeal, discernment, boldness, promptness. Normally he had no right to step in and judge like this. But these were no ordinary times. The situation needed more than the usual legal process, or the nation would perish... Many another would have seen that it was the best thing to do a few seconds too late.
The verse names his father and grandfather. This is the priestly family, and a priest is holding a weapon. Even his name fits what he does.
Notice how the text insists on his link to Eleazar and to Aaron each time it names Phinehas. That is the very thing man would most want kept out of sight. We understand a priest praying for people. We do not usually think of carrying out judgment as priestly work. Yet this passage stresses the connection. "Phinehas" means "mouth of brass," and implies the firmness of the word of God which he here carries out.
Judgment and atonement sound like opposites. Here they meet in one man.
The priesthood of Phinehas springs from the priesthood of Eleazar and carries it on. Yet judgment is what keeps this priesthood alive and holds it up. Indeed, strange as it may seem, judgment is what makes atonement.
What one man did changed the outcome for a whole nation.
The Lord had sent a plague that destroyed 24,000 people, showing how widespread their corruption had been. The action of Phinehas, however, stopped the plague. This shows that one man, standing for God in judgment, can prevent greater judgment.
Commentators read this act as one of the clearest Old Testament pictures of Christ.
You could not have a more magnificent light in which to read the Christ of God than in that act of Phinehas. Aaron was never in this way entitled to a covenant of peace. So you have these two Old Testament lights in which to read the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. He was the true Aaron and the true Phinehas.
Zeal like this has a source. It comes from knowing what a people is to God, and writers carry that straight over to the church today.
We see in Phinehas the faithfulness that overcomes. He judges the evil on God's behalf. "He was jealous with my jealousy among them." His zeal turned the Lord's wrath away from the children of Israel. ... Israel's relationship to the Lord brought out the zeal of Phinehas when he carried out judgment. In the same way, a sense of what the Church is to Christ makes faithful believers long for her to answer to His mind and be unspotted from the world.
- Mixture — Balaam did not attack Israel openly. He mixed the worship of the Lord with Baal-peor, and the attempt did more damage than any curse could.
- Sight — Phinehas saw the evil. He did not pass the job to older or more official men.
- Speed — the moment called for action outside normal procedure. Many would have judged rightly a few seconds too late.
- Priesthood — the text keeps naming Eleazar and Aaron. Carrying out judgment is priestly work here, not a break from it.
- Stayed — one man acted for God. He turned away wrath, made atonement and stopped the plague. God gave him a covenant of peace, and in all this he points to Christ, the true Phinehas.
and he went after the man of Israel into the tent-chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. And the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
Days earlier God had blessed Israel through Balaam's prophecies. Now the same people had joined themselves to the idol Baal-peor, and a plague was sweeping the camp. One man took a spear and followed the offenders into the tent. The dying stopped. Why would God count a killing as the act that saved a nation?
Just before this, Balaam's prophecies gave God's own view of Israel. Chapter 25 shows the other side.
In Balaam's visions we see Israel's perfect standing; in the plains of Moab, their imperfect state. Balaam's parables give us God's estimate of the first; the javelin of Phinehas, His judgment on the second. God will never reverse His decision about what His people are in standing. But He must judge and correct them when their ways do not match that standing.
One writer reads this single act as the summary of everything Phinehas was.
His whole life was a training for that one blow, and that blow revealed his whole character — zeal, discernment, boldness, speed. In ordinary times it was no part of his role to step in with judgment like this. But these were no ordinary times. Something more than the usual legal process was needed, or the nation would perish. The plague was already raging among them. Many another man would have seen that this was the best thing to do a few seconds too late. He saw it, and struck at once.
One writer marks what such a moment demands.
There are moments in the history of God's people when tenderness to man becomes unfaithfulness to God. It is of the greatest importance to be able to recognise such moments. The prompt action of Phinehas saved the whole congregation, glorified the LORD among His people, and completely defeated the enemy's plan. Phinehas himself received an everlasting priesthood.
The plague stops the moment judgment falls. One writer calls that judgment itself the atonement.
Idolatry, the degrading of God, always ends in the degrading of man. ... Now the zeal of Phinehas awakes: he carries out swift judgment, and God accepts this as atonement. It is God's wrath that he carries out, and that wrath stops falling on Israel: the plague ceases.
This was not the first plague God's people had seen stopped. One writer sets the two rescues side by side, and marks their limit.
The action of Phinehas stopped it, when he killed Zimri, a prince of Simeon, along with Cozbi, a daughter of Midian, and so made atonement for Israel. A man had been found to take God's side against the side of his own people. In the wilderness the plague stopped when Aaron stood between the dead and the living with his lighted censer. Those who had already died were beyond recovery; for them no atonement was possible. Zeal for God showed in the one; the other pictured the merits of Christ set before God.
The spear is in the hand of a priest, and his name carries its own meaning.
Notice how, each time Phinehas is named, Scripture insists on his relation to Eleazar and to Aaron. It is what man would most of all have kept out of sight. A priest praying for others we understand. Carrying out judgment we do not usually think of as priestly work. Yet Scripture emphasizes the connection here. "Phinehas" means "mouth of brass," and implies the firmness of the word of God which he here carries out. So "Jesus Christ the righteous" is the title of Him who is our Advocate — righteous, and the "propitiation for our sins."
The numbers in the chapter make the contrast plain.
The Lord had sent a plague that destroyed 24,000 people, showing how widespread their corruption had been. The action of Phinehas, however, stopped the plague. This shows that one man, standing for God in judgment, can turn away greater judgment. In this he reflects the Lord Jesus. At the end of the Great Tribulation He will judge evil faithfully, and that will mean deliverance for the many who bow to His authority.
One writer turns the account into a question for the reader.
If Phinehas had stayed sitting where he was, the plague would have got worse and worse and worse. But he rose up and he acted, and Scripture says the plague "was stopped." Is there a plague among us? Is there a Phinehas among us who will get up and act for God in faithfulness, not looking over his shoulder to see if anyone is following?
- Sin — God's blessing on Israel did not cancel His discipline. He never reverses His decision about their standing. But He must judge when their ways do not match it.
- Moment — One blow revealed a whole life. The same act "a few seconds too late" would have saved no one.
- Atonement — Phinehas carried out God's own wrath. God accepted that judgment as atonement, and the plague stopped.
- Priesthood — Scripture keeps naming his priestly line while he holds the spear. Carrying out judgment is priestly work too, and it points to "Jesus Christ the righteous," our Advocate.
- Now — One man standing for God turned back judgment from many. Is there such a man today?
And those that died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Israel could not be beaten in war, and Balaam's curses could not touch them. Yet twenty-four thousand died in a plague after they mixed with Moab at Baal-peor — so what made that sin so deadly, and what stopped the judgment?
One writer sets Israel's unbeaten record in war beside its death toll at Baal-peor, and follows the loss into the next census:
The people could not be beaten in war, yet they gave in to the seduction of the Midianite women. Not one man fell in battle against the Amorites. But twenty-four thousand died in the plague God sent in the matter of Baal-peor. The faithfulness of Phinehas turned God's wrath away at that time. But the tribe of Simeon bore witness for a long time to what had happened. Its numbers fell by more than thirty-seven thousand, as the second census showed when compared with the first.
Two enemies of Israel worked in opposite ways:
Balaam's opposition is a contrast to Amalek's. Amalek comes out to fight you openly and resist you. Balaam tries to corrupt you through social contact.
This number is a closed total: the plague went no further. One writer asks who could stop a judgment that people deserved:
When people deserved God's wrath, who could turn it away? When it fell on them, who could stop it? If it was right for God to punish the offenders for their sins, how could He rightly hold back His governing hand before all the guilty had died?... Scripture history records that He could, and He did... A plague had broken out among the people, and 24,000 died from it. But the action of Phinehas stopped it. He killed Zimri, a prince of Simeon, along with Cozbi, a daughter of Midian, and so made atonement for Israel. A man had been found to vindicate God by taking sides against offenders in Israel... Those who had died were beyond recovery, and for them no atonement was possible. Phinehas could step in only for the living, since his act had to do with God's government of His people.
One man's action stopped it, and that points forward:
The Lord had sent a plague that destroyed 24,000 people, showing how widespread their corruption had been. The action of Phinehas, however, stopped the plague (vv. 8-9). This shows that one man, standing for God in judgment, can prevent greater judgment. In this he reflects the Lord Jesus. His faithfulness in judging evil at the end of the Great Tribulation will mean deliverance for the many who will bow to His authority.
In Corinthians the number is twenty-three thousand, a thousand fewer than here. Commentators differ on how the two records fit. One takes the difference from the words added there:
Numbers 25:9 speaks of 24,000 dying in the plague, but it does not say "in one day." Evidently the other 1,000 died on a different day.
Another finds the missing thousand in an earlier punishment:
The record in Numbers speaks of an earlier punishment. The heads of the offenders were hung up before the Lord in the sun. Jewish tradition says the number punished that way was a thousand, so that only 23,000 died in the plague. In verse 9 this thousand is counted in, while in Corinthians it is not.
What Balaam could not do by cursing, he tried to do by mixture:
Balaam was made to give God's thought about His people: they are a people who will live alone, and will not be counted among the nations. Yet he was the one who later did his best to mix them with the wicked nation of Moab. He could not curse, but knowing God's purpose, and being an enemy, he sought their ruin by cunning (Num. 31:16). He snares them into evil associations, and God must deal in judgment. From this we learn what the doctrine of Balaam means. It shows one of the devil's great tricks, and we must guard against it. His constant effort is to produce mixture where God's express mind is separation and purity.
- Cursed, no — corrupted, yes. Balaam could not curse Israel, so he used the Midianite women instead. The open attack failed; the friendly one worked.
- Mixture is the weapon. God's mind for His people is separation and purity, so the enemy works for mixture — and God must then deal in judgment.
- The count is the measure. Twenty-four thousand dead shows how far the corruption had spread. For those already dead, no atonement was possible.
- One man halts it. Phinehas took God's side against his own people and made atonement, and the plague stopped. In this he reflects Christ, whose judging of evil brings deliverance to many.
- The cost outlives the plague. At the next census, Simeon's tribe was more than thirty-seven thousand smaller. The plague ended, but the loss stayed on the record.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
A plague had just swept through Israel at Baal-peor, and it stopped only when Phinehas rose up and acted. Now God speaks — and the question is why one man's violent act turned away His wrath and won an everlasting priesthood.
Just before this, Balaam tried from the heights to curse Israel, and failed. This verse belongs to a different scene. One commentator sets the two side by side:
Balaam's parables give us God's estimate of their standing. The javelin of Phinehas gives His judgement on their state. God will never reverse His decision about what His people are in their standing. But He must judge and chasten them when their ways do not match that standing.
It was Phinehas's zeal that turned the wrath away. The same quality appears again in the New Testament:
In Phinehas we see the faithfulness that overcomes. He judges the evil on God's behalf. "He was zealous for my sake." His zeal turned away the Lord's wrath from the children of Israel. That was the effect of being "zealous for his God." Later, Paul showed the same holy jealousy that would not tolerate evil in the Church… He writes to them: "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ."
(Where the ESV reads "jealous with my jealousy," older translations read "zealous for my sake.")
Phinehas's act looks harsh. One commentator explains what drove him:
God's glory and Israel's good ruled the conduct of the faithful Phinehas here. It was a critical moment. He felt the moment called for the sternest action. It was no time for false tenderness. There are moments in the history of God's people when tenderness to man becomes unfaithfulness to God. It matters greatly to recognise such moments.
God says Phinehas "made atonement" — yet he offered no sacrifice. One writer meets the strangeness head on:
The priesthood of Phinehas springs from the priesthood of Eleazar and continues it. Yet judgment keeps it up and sustains it. Strange as it may seem, judgment makes atonement: "Phinehas has turned back My wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in My jealousy."
The same writer does not dodge the difficulty:
God's Word is true and unchangeable, and we need not be afraid to ask such questions… But what are we to say of this most unusual aspect of atonement? Judgment falls here not on a substitute for sinners, but on the sinners themselves.
The Lord's speech ends with a reward, and He words it twice over. One commentator asks why:
"I give to him My covenant of peace." If you give something to someone, then he has it. So why does the Spirit of God add, "And he shall have it"? The emphasis says that God is confirming the matter: "the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel."
(The words "and he shall have it" come from older translations; the ESV reads that the covenant "shall be to him and to his descendants after him.")
God called Aaron to the priesthood. Phinehas earned his. One writer finds both in Christ:
When we come to the Lord Jesus, we find that both of these, Aaron and Phinehas, are seen in Him. He was "called by God, just as Aaron was." Aaron was simply a called priest. The priesthood of Numbers 25 stands in contrast to Aaron's. Phinehas was not called as Aaron was, but he earned his title. How did he do it? He made atonement for Israel on the day they failed so badly over the daughters of Baal-peor. That let the Lord look with satisfaction on His straying camp again.
Phinehas stood between God and the people for one day. Another writer points to the One who does it for ever:
Only One could come between the jealousy of God and the corrupted people in such a way that the covenant of peace would stand undisturbed for ever.
- Cause — Israel's collapse at Baal-peor exposed the gap between their standing before God and their state. So God took up the rod of discipline.
- Zeal — God calls Phinehas's jealousy His own. The same holy jealousy later moved Paul to refuse evil in the church.
- Cost — Faithfulness meant sternness that day. At times, tenderness toward people becomes unfaithfulness toward God.
- Atonement — Judgment on the guilty, not a substitute, turned the wrath away. Commentators call this an unusual form of atonement and face it instead of explaining it away.
- Covenant — The reward is a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood, repeated for emphasis. Christ answers to both priests: called like Aaron, and earning His title like Phinehas.
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
Balaam's prophecies had just given God's high view of Israel. A chapter later the same people have joined themselves to Baal-peor, a plague is killing them, and one man's act turns God's wrath away.
What God says Israel is, and what Israel was doing, are two different things. One writer keeps them apart.
Balaam's parables give us God's estimate of their perfect standing; the javelin of Phinehas, His judgement on their imperfect state. God will never reverse His decision about what His people are in standing; but He must judge and chasten them when their ways do not match that standing. It is His gracious will that their state should correspond to their standing. But here, sadly, is where failure comes in.
The trouble started where Israel let their separation go.
Again we see, at Shittim, how easily the people of God can get away from God. They begin to give up their separation from the nations around them. That separation was no arbitrary thing. It was needed, because those nations were sunk in wickedness. So the result is a wild and terrible license. Idolatry, the degrading of God, ends — as it always does — in the degrading of man.
God's commendation rests on what Phinehas did "among them" — in the middle of the crisis, not after it.
God's glory and Israel's good were the objects that governed the conduct of the faithful Phinehas on this occasion. It was a critical moment. He felt there was a demand for the sternest action. It was no time for false tenderness. There are moments in the history of God's people when tenderness to man becomes unfaithfulness to God. It is of the greatest importance to recognise such moments.
Another writer turns the same urgency into a question for the reader.
If Phinehas had stayed where he was, the plague would have got worse and worse and worse. But he rose up and he acted, and it says the plague was stopped. Is there a plague among us? Is there a Phinehas among us who will get up and act for God in faithfulness? Someone who will not look over his shoulder to see if anyone is following?
The verse says Phinehas was jealous with God's own jealousy. That jealousy came from God, and Paul shows the same jealousy later.
We see in Phinehas the faithfulness that overcomes. He judges the evil on God's behalf... His zeal turned away the Lord's wrath from the people of Israel. And why such jealousy? It was of God. Paul writes to them again, "I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:2.) Israel's relationship to the Lord brought out the zeal of Phinehas when he carried out judgment. In the same way, a sense of what the Church is to Christ makes the faithful long that she should answer to His mind and be kept unspotted from the world.
The verse names Phinehas as the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest. One writer points to that repeated line.
Notice how, each time Phinehas is named, the text insists on his relation to Eleazar and to Aaron. It is what a man would most want to keep out of sight. We understand priestly intercession. But we do not normally think of carrying out judgment as priestly work. Yet this passage stresses the connection. "Phinehas" means "mouth of brass," and suggests the firmness of the word of God which he here carries out.
God answered what Phinehas did with a covenant of peace. Commentators set him beside Aaron.
Aaron was simply called into the priesthood. Phinehas earned a right to it... He made atonement for Israel on the day of their great failure over the daughters of Baal-peor. He made it possible for the Lord to look on His straying camp with satisfaction again... You could not have a finer light in which to read the Christ of God than that act of Phinehas. Aaron was never entitled to a covenant of peace in this way.
Another writer points past Phinehas to someone greater.
This is only a picture of the everlasting priesthood of the Lord Jesus. That priesthood is His because He was faithful in making atonement in a far higher way, by His great sacrifice at Calvary. But it does teach us how greatly God values faithfulness to Him.
- Cause — Israel gave up their separation from the nations around them. Idolatry followed, and it dragged their conduct down. God judged their state, not their standing.
- Zeal — The jealousy of Phinehas was God's own jealousy. Paul shows the same concern for those betrothed to Christ.
- Timing — He acted while the plague was still running. Tenderness toward man, at that moment, would have been unfaithfulness toward God.
- Atonement — One man's act turned God's wrath away and spared the nation. God called that making atonement.
- Reward — Aaron was called to the priesthood. Phinehas earned a right to it. Both, commentators say, picture Christ, who made atonement in a far higher way.
Therefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace!
Israel had just fallen into idolatry and immorality on the plains of Moab. A plague was tearing through the camp when one man, Phinehas, acted. God's response is this verse: a covenant of peace, handed to the man who had used a spear.
This scene contrasts with the chapters just before it. There, Balaam's prophecies showed Israel as God saw them. Here, the camp shows what Israel was.
In the one case we see their perfect standing; in the other, their imperfect state. Balaam's parables give us God's estimate of the first; the spear of Phinehas, His judgement on the second. God will never reverse His decision about what His people are in their standing. But He must judge and chasten them when their ways do not match that standing.
What made Phinehas's act right was the hour it fell in. Softness would have been betrayal.
God's glory and Israel's good were the objects that ruled the conduct of the faithful Phinehas on this occasion. It was a critical moment. He felt there was a demand for the most stern action. It was no time for false tenderness. There are moments in the history of God's people when tenderness to man becomes unfaithfulness to God. It is vitally important to be able to recognise such moments.
Some older translations carry the promise on with the words "and he shall have it." One writer treats that repetition as deliberate.
Why does the Spirit of God say what we might call, in ordinary language, a tautology — something extra? He says, "I give to him My covenant of peace." If you give something to someone, then he has it. Yet the Spirit of God adds, "And he shall have it." The emphasis says that God is confirming the matter.
The gift is strange on its face. A man stops a plague by killing, and God calls the reward peace.
The priesthood of Phinehas grows out of the priesthood of Eleazar and continues it. Yet judgment keeps it going and holds it up. More than that: strange as it may seem, judgment is what makes atonement.
The same writer is careful about how far this reaches. This is atonement of one kind, not the kind that settles a sinner's eternal standing.
No, assuredly; nothing but the blood of Jesus can put away sin from before God, or justify the ungodly, so that he shall not be judged forever.
One writer sets Phinehas beside Aaron. The two came into the priesthood in different ways, and both are seen in Christ.
God simply called Aaron into the priesthood; Phinehas earned a right to it. How did he do this? He made atonement for Israel on the day of their great failure over the daughters of Baal-peor. He made it possible for the Lord to look with satisfaction again at His straying camp… Aaron was never entitled to a covenant of peace in this way. So you have these two Old Testament lights by which to read the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. He was the true Aaron and the true Phinehas… He was called into office, as Aaron was; but He held that office because He made atonement.
The promise matters for what it points to, and for what it shows about God.
God was giving Phinehas His covenant of peace, a promise that would extend to his descendants also, in the form of an everlasting priesthood. This is only a picture of the everlasting priesthood of the Lord Jesus. He holds it because of His faithfulness in making atonement in a far higher way, by His great sacrifice at Calvary. But it does teach us how much God values faithfulness to Him.
"Everlasting" was tested hard. For long stretches the wrong family held the high priesthood, yet the promise held.
Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family which unlawfully possessed themselves of the high-priesthood in spite of Jehovah's solemn promise to Phinehas. But there was a restoration in the person of Zadok in David and Solomon's time, for Jehovah is faithful in spite of man's failure and enmity. And in the latter day of which Ezekiel speaks, we find the sons of Zadok will reappear in the priestly line, and Jehovah's original "covenant of peace" with Phinehas will be maintained.
- Crisis. Israel's standing before God stayed perfect, but their state did not match it. So God judged and chastened their ways.
- Zeal. One man saw what the moment demanded. At such moments, tenderness toward people becomes unfaithfulness toward God.
- Gift. God's reward is peace. He states the promise twice over, confirming it beyond doubt.
- Reach. The covenant runs past Phinehas to his descendants, in the form of an everlasting priesthood.
- Fulfilment. God called Aaron to his priesthood; Phinehas earned a title to his. Both point to Christ — the true Aaron and the true Phinehas — whose atonement is of a far higher order.
And he shall have it, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.
Numbers 25 closes a dark scene. Israel joined itself to Baal-peor in idolatry and immorality, and a plague broke out. Verse 13 is God's verdict on the one man who acted. God gives Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, a priesthood that will never end. He gives the reason twice: he was jealous for his God.
Commentators stress that the deed matched the hour.
God's glory and Israel's good were the objects that ruled the conduct of the faithful Phinehas on this occasion. It was a critical moment... It was no time for false tenderness. There are moments in the history of God's people when tenderness to man becomes unfaithfulness to God. It is of the greatest importance to be able to see such moments.
One writer points out that Phinehas had no legal right to act.
All his life was a training for that one blow, and his whole character showed in it — zeal, discernment, boldness, promptness. In ordinary circumstances it was not his place at all to step in and judge like this. But these were no ordinary circumstances... The plague was already raging among them. Many another man would have seen that this was the best thing to do a few seconds too late. He saw it, and at once he struck.
The verse says Phinehas "made atonement." One writer starts from how the verse names him, and from what his own name means.
Notice how the text insists on his link to Eleazar and to Aaron each time Phinehas is named. It is what man would most want to keep out of sight. "Phinehas" means "mouth of brass," and points to the firmness of the word of God that he carries out here.
The same writer explains what kind of atonement this was, and why it still matters.
Next we have Israel joining themselves to Baal-peor, and Phinehas making atonement by judgment to the government of God. God marks that act with His emphatic approval for all time to come. Let us note it as very needful to keep in mind, in days as lax as these about divine holiness. Phinehas is no less a priest in the place of intercession when he uses the sword of judgment.
Using an older translation, one writer asks why God adds a clause that sounds like a repeat.
Why does the Spirit of God say something we would call, in ordinary language, superfluous? "I give to him My covenant of peace." If you give something to someone, then he has it. But the Spirit of God says, "And he shall have it." That emphasis says God is confirming the matter.
Centuries of human failure then tested that promise.
Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. That branch seized the high priesthood unlawfully, despite Jehovah's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But God restored the line in Zadok in David and Solomon's time, for Jehovah is faithful despite man's failure and hostility. And in the last days that Ezekiel speaks of, the sons of Zadok reappear in the priestly line. Jehovah will keep His original "covenant of peace" with Phinehas.
Commentators see Phinehas as a picture of Christ, alongside Aaron. He shows something Aaron never did.
You could not have a more magnificent light in which to read the Christ of God than in that act of Phinehas. Aaron was never entitled in this way to a covenant of peace. So you have these two Old Testament lights in which to read the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. He was the true Aaron and the true Phinehas.
Another writer follows the same picture into Christ's own suffering.
So also Christ, the true Phinehas... learned obedience by the things He suffered, and through them, like Phinehas, He made atonement and turned away wrath... Levi is nothing, Aaron is nothing, and Phinehas is nothing. Jesus is the Priest. The blessing lies in His hand alone, and He ministers it.
One writer traces the same jealousy from Phinehas to Paul.
We see in Phinehas the faithfulness that overcomes. He judges the evil on God's behalf... His zeal turned away the Lord's wrath from the children of Israel. That was the effect of being "jealous for his God." And why such jealousy? It was of God. Paul writes to them again: "I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:2.)
- Zeal. Phinehas cared more for God's glory than for being liked. There are hours when tenderness to man becomes unfaithfulness to God.
- Atonement. God calls the deed atonement — atonement to His government, made by judging the evil. The priest's sword and the priest's prayers serve the same holiness.
- Covenant. The reward is a covenant of peace. God repeats the promise to confirm it, so the gift is as sure as the God who gives it.
- Forever. Men seized the priestly line, but God restored it in Zadok and will honour it again in a coming day. His word outlives man's failure.
- Christ. Phinehas and Aaron are two lights on the priesthood of Jesus. He is both — the One who turned away wrath and holds the blessing in His hand alone.
And the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, the prince of a father's house of the Simeonites.
The plague has stopped, and now Scripture pauses to name the man Phinehas killed and to record his rank. Why does God want it on record that the offender was a leader in Israel?
One writer takes the man's rank as the warning in the verse, and traces what high standing does to a man.
The name of the Israelite who was killed is now given as Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a father's house in Israel (v.14). How often it seems that prominent men are taken in by the enemy's cunning tricks. They grow bold in their evil because they think their high position will protect them. This seems especially true of the sons of prominent men. They are often looked up to by the people just because their fathers were prominent. They hold a place of recognition. That puts them in grave danger if they have not learned the humility that comes through honest self-judgment. Their fathers may have learned the lesson well — that the one who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11) — but the sons want the exaltation without the humbling.
The same writer notes that the woman is named too, and says why the enemy picks people of rank.
The name of the woman is also given, Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was also a prominent man in Midian. Satan knows it is much more effective to use people of prominence. They give the common people more excuse for their wrong doing.
Zimri did not hide what he did. One writer traces that flesh from Baal-peor right into the camp, and shows how Phinehas answered it.
See Israel going out to join with flesh at Baal-peor. Then Zimri brings that flesh in to his brothers, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation. And Phinehas rose up, took a javelin, went into the tent, and thrust both of them through. He "was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel" — covering their sin with blood, and turning His wrath away by atonement.
Zimri fell to a plan, not to an attack. It came from Balaam, and one writer explains why it almost worked.
The suggestion Balaam made for the ruin of Israel was worthy of his able and inventive mind, and it came very near to complete success. The proposal looked innocent enough: simply a union of the worship of the Lord with the worship of Baal-peor. Such an all-inclusive religion is always the most subtle danger for a generous and open mind.
The plague was already at work among the people. One writer asks how a righteous God could hold back His hand in government while guilty people were still alive.
If it was righteous of God to punish the offenders for their sins, how could He rightly withdraw His hand in government until all the guilty had died? … The action of Phinehas, however, stopped it. He killed Zimri, a prince of Simeon, along with Cozbi, a daughter of Midian, and so made atonement for Israel. (Num. 25:13.) A man had been found to vindicate God by taking part against offenders in Israel. With that the Lord graciously halted the judgment. It had been doing its dreadful work in the camps of the people. Because judgment fell on one offender, the congregation were spared that day.
Zimri's tribe is named too. One writer compares Simeon's early numbers with the later ones.
Looking at Simeon, we are struck by the drop from 59,300 to 22,200. His strength is little more than a third of what he had at the start. We cannot help remembering that it was a prince of this tribe who was the leading offender at Baal-peor, and that judgment fell on him at once (Num. 25:8)… Rebellion, the sin of Reuben, does not leave that tribe as weak as mixing with foreign peoples left Simeon. How many of God's people have proved what Simeon proved here! Mixing with the world saps their strength and destroys their spiritual prosperity. … And, as though in solemn warning, Simeon sinned at the close of the journey, when there was no time left for recovery.
- Named. Scripture records the offender's name and his rank: Zimri, son of Salu, a chief of the Simeonites.
- Deceived. Prominent men, and their sons most of all, grow bold in evil. They assume their position shields them.
- Baited. The snare was not a curse but a merger: worship of the Lord blended with Baal-peor. That is what attracts an open, generous mind.
- Judged. Phinehas struck him down, and that one act made atonement. Judgment on one offender stopped the plague and spared the rest.
- Costly. His tribe shrank to barely a third of its earlier strength. The sin came at the end of the journey, with no time left to recover.
And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was tribal head of a father's house in Midian.
The plague at Shittim ends with two named bodies: an Israelite leader, and Cozbi, a Midianite woman from a leading family. Why does Scripture record her name, her father's name and his rank?
Her name carries a meaning. One writer gives it, and then turns to Phinehas, the man who stopped the plague.
The name of the Midianite woman was Cozbi ("my lie"). By the zeal of Phinehas the people were saved from further judgment and the LORD was glorified. He was zealous for His God and made atonement for the people of Israel. As his reward he received an everlasting priesthood. It is another picture of Christ in His righteousness and holy zeal for God.
The verse also marks her father as "the tribal head of a father's house in Midian." One writer sees a tactic behind that rank.
The name of the woman is also given, Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was likewise a prominent man in Midian. Satan knows that using prominent people works far better. They give ordinary people more excuse for their own wrongdoing.
Chapter 25 opens with the daughters of Moab. Yet the woman struck down here is from Midian, and Midian is the nation God later tells Israel to fight. One writer traces how the two peoples worked together, and why God judged only one of them.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite. There was a close connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At first Balak consulted the elders of Midian. Then the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the help of Balaam and his sorceries... Why not take revenge on the Moabites too? Then the destruction of Moab would have been as complete as that of Midian. But God had said that Israel should not attack Moab (Deut. 2:9). Is this not an example of God's discriminating judgment, showing mercy on whom He will? And since Balaam the Midianite advised the king of Moab, was not the judgment on them entirely just?
Cozbi's killing was not private revenge. One writer calls it the act that turned back a judgment already running through the camp.
A plague had broken out among the people, and 24,000 died from it. Phinehas stopped it. He killed Zimri, a prince of Simeon, along with Cozbi, a daughter of Midian, and so made atonement for Israel. Here was a man to vindicate God by taking sides against the offenders in Israel. With that the Lord in His grace halted the judgment. It was already doing its dreadful work in the camps of the people. Because judgment fell on an offender, the congregation was spared that day.
Notice the order in which God moved. He dealt with Israel first, before He sent Israel against Midian.
But note this well. Before the LORD said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had first avenged Himself on the people of Israel... It is said in the New Testament that judgment must begin at the house of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). And so God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way.
The pairing of an Israelite prince with a Midianite princess left a mark that showed up a chapter later, when the nation was counted again.
Looking at Simeon, we are struck by the shrinkage from 59,300 to 22,200 — his strength little more than a third of what it was at the start. We cannot help remembering that a prince of this tribe was the leading offender at Baal Peor. Judgment fell on him at once (Num. 25:8)... What Balak could not do by cursing, mixing with the Midianites did, in measure. Rebellion, the sin of Reuben, does not leave a tribe as weak as mingling with foreign peoples left Simeon. How many of God's people have proved what Simeon proved here! Mixture with the world drains their strength and ruins their spiritual prosperity. And Simeon sinned at the very close of the journey, so there was no time to recover.
- Named: God does not leave the guilty anonymous. He records the Midianite woman by name, and her name, "my lie," labels the whole seduction.
- Ranked: she was a chief's daughter, joined to an Israelite leader. The enemy looks for influence, because prominent sinners hand ordinary people an excuse.
- Midian: God judges Midian, not Moab. Balaam's own people were the more active in the snare, and God's earlier word shielded Moab.
- Stopped: judgment on the two offenders halted the plague. One man took God's side, and the whole congregation was spared that day.
- Counted: the cost outlasted the moment. Simeon left the wilderness with barely a third of its strength. Mixture with the world drains a people more than open rebellion does.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
After the plague at Peor stops, the Lord speaks to Moses again. Now the subject is not Israel's sin but Midian, the nation that led Israel into it.
Midian was not a stranger nation. Its link with Israel ran back to Abraham, yet its record against Israel was long.
Midian was a descendant of Abraham, and in that way related by nature to Israel, as many of these peoples were. But from an early day they had shown themselves the enemies of God's people. It was they who, with the Ishmaelites, carried Joseph down into Egypt and sold him into slavery there. God freed the nation from that slavery, and they were nearing their inheritance. Then the Midianites, together with Moab, first tried to get the curse of God upon them through Balaam. When that failed, they succeeded instead in defiling them. Israel shared in the sinful rites of Baal Peor, so God's afflicting hand came on them. For this reason, God commanded Israel to "harass the Midianites."
Moab shared in this sin, yet the sentence falls on Midian. Commentators explain why: Midian took the leading role, and a separate word from God spared Moab.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite, and there was a close connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At first Balak consulted the elders of Midian. Then the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the help of Balaam and his sorceries… Again we hear the command, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites." Why not on the Moabites? Then the destruction of Moab would have been as complete as that of Midian. But God had said that Israel should not attack Moab, so judgment here does not fall on Moab, but falls without mercy on Midian. Is this not an example of God's discriminating judgment — He will have mercy on whom He will? And since Balaam the Midianite advised the king of Moab, was the judgment on them not entirely just?
Balak's approach to Israel looked friendly. One writer explains what was behind it.
How clear the hand of Satan is! Why should Balak seek friendly contact with Israel, whom we saw he hated and feared? Was it a human way of overcoming them and causing their destruction? No, it was the wisdom of the serpent. Balaam, the agent of the devil, taught Moab the art of seducing the people known as the Lord's people. And he found in Israel fit material to work on.
The Lord gives the order here, but Israel does not march yet.
Because of this deceit of Midian, the Lord told Moses that Israel was to harass and attack the Midianites (vv. 17-18). But this did not happen at once. Other matters came first, dealing with Israel's relationship to God. Chapter 31:1-11 records the actual attack against Midian. God's rights must be recognized first; then the enemy is punished.
One writer points to the order God kept, and to the task it left Moses.
Note well what came first. Before the Lord said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the people of Israel… The New Testament says that judgment must begin at the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). So God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way. It is a divine principle… The Lord put honour on Moses. He commanded him to defend His name in Israel first, and then against the Midianites. This was his last great act.
Midian's name carries its own lesson.
The word Midian means "strife." Midian pictures the world, which opposes God and stands apart from Him… The world and the flesh always work together to enslave God's people and rob them of their blessings.
The census that follows counts the cost.
Simeon has shrunk from 59,300 to 22,200 — a little more than a third of his strength at the start. A prince of this tribe led the offence at Baal Peor, and judgment fell on him at once. What Balak's efforts at cursing could not achieve, mixture with the Midianites did, in measure. Reuben's sin was rebellion, and it did not leave his tribe as weak as mingling with strange people left Simeon. How many of God's people have proved the same as Simeon here! Mixture with the world saps their strength and destroys their spiritual prosperity.
- Deceit, not war. Cursing failed, so Midian turned to seduction dressed as friendship — and that worked.
- Deceit met at home first. God judged Israel's own sin before He sentenced the tempter. Judgment begins at the household of God.
- Deceit met later abroad. Israel carries out this command only in chapter 31, after God settles His rights among His own people.
- Deceit still costs. What no curse could do, mixing did. Simeon falls to a third of his numbers — a warning that friendship with the world drains strength.
Harass the Midianites, and smite them,
God tells Moses to treat Midian as a settled enemy, straight after the judgment at Baal-peor. Why Midian and not Moab, whose daughters began the seduction — and why war on a people who fought with seduction, not the sword?
Midian was no stranger nation. One writer traces their record against their own relatives, and what their name means.
Midian was a descendant of Abraham, and in that way related by nature to Israel, as were many of these peoples. But from an early day they had shown themselves the enemies of God's people. It was they who, with the Ishmaelites, carried Joseph down into Egypt and sold him into slavery there. The nation came out of that slavery. As they neared their inheritance, the Midianites, together with Moab, first tried to get the curse of God upon them through Balaam. Failing in this, they succeeded in defiling them, and brought God's afflicting hand on them, because they took part in the unholy rites of Baal-peor. Because of this, God had commanded Israel to "harass the Midianites." … Midian means "strife," a fitting name for that spirit of the world which brings the strife of desires into the soul.
The chapter opens with the daughters of Moab, yet the sentence falls on Midian. One writer untangles the two peoples and shows why Moab escapes.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite. The Moabites and the Midianites were closely connected. At first Balak consulted the elders of Midian. Then the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the aid of Balaam and his sorceries… But God had said that Israel should not harass Moab (Deut. 2:9). So judgment here does not fall on Moab proper. It falls unsparingly on Midian. And since Balaam, the Midianite, advised the Moabite king, was the judgment on them not most just?
Curses could not touch Israel, so the attack changed shape.
God held Balaam's lips and forced him to speak blessings instead of curses, in spite of himself. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." When the devil comes as an adversary, he has no power. The secret of his power lies in coming in as a tempter and seducer. Satan could not get the LORD to curse Israel. So he seduced them into wickedness, leading them "to eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." Then how could the holy God bring them in?
Balaam's plan worked against his own prophecy, and the cost fell on both sides.
At the outset of his prophecy Balaam had declared the separation of Israel from all nations. Now comes the devilish effort of this evil man to defeat his own words. He seduced Israel into alliance with Moab. He did not defeat God's purpose, of course, but he did seduce many, and so brought heavy punishment on them… Twenty-four thousand of the people died, and the sin brought a sentence of death on the Midianites at the hand of Israel.
God struck Israel before He told Israel to strike Midian. The order matters.
But mark this well. Before the LORD said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the people of Israel… The New Testament says that judgment must begin at the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). And so God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way. It is a divine principle. As it marks God's way here, so it marks His true servant…
The command came here; the attack came later.
This did not happen at once. There were other matters to take care of first, to do with Israel's relationship to God. Chapter 31:1-11 records the actual attack against Midian.
Commentators read Midian as a picture of something believers still meet.
The Midianites are a picture of the special influence which the world exerts over the hearts of the people of God. It is the fascinating, ensnaring power of the world, which Satan uses to hinder our entrance into our proper heavenly portion. Israel should have had nothing to do with these Midianites. But an evil hour — an unguarded moment — betrayed them into association with Midian. Now nothing remains but war and utter destruction.
Another writer draws the lesson for our own dealings with the world.
How often we must act the part of enemies with the world! It is because we sought to deal with them as friends, and they were a snare to our souls. But God gives complete victory as soon as we treat them as foes. Only, we must wholly destroy all that seduced us. There must be nothing spared, no concession.
- Kinship: Midian came from Abraham, as Israel did, yet fought God's people from the selling of Joseph on. The name means "strife."
- Wiles: Satan could not curse Israel, so he tempted them. Seduction won where sorcery failed.
- Selection: Midian, not Moab, bears the sentence. Balaam's people led in the sin, and God had told Israel to leave Moab alone.
- Order: God avenged Himself on Israel first, then commanded vengeance on Midian. Judgment begins at home.
- No concession: Midian pictures the world's ensnaring power. Once we join ourselves to it, only war is left, and we spare nothing.
for they have harassed you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague because of the matter of Peor.
God gives the reason for war in this verse. Midian had not beaten Israel in battle. They had tricked them — first at Peor, then through Cozbi, a Midianite chief's daughter killed on the day of the plague. So why does the sentence fall on Midian and not on Moab, and why is a trick treated as an act of war?
One writer weighs Midian's part against Moab's.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite. There was a close connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At the first, Balak consulted the elders of Midian. The elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the help of Balaam and his sorceries. The judgment of the Lord here falls on the Midianites… Again we hear the command, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites." Why not on the Moabites? Then the destruction of Moab would have been complete, as Midian's was. But God had said that Israel should not attack Moab (Deut. 2:9). Is this not an instance of the discriminating judgment of God, Who will have mercy on whom He will? And since Balaam the Midianite advised the Moabite king, was not the judgment on them most just?
The word "wiles" marks a change in the enemy's method.
Balaam is again the instrument of Satan. He could not curse, but he could seduce. Here is the cunning of the old serpent. Before, he was like the roaring lion seeking to devour Israel; now he is the crafty serpent. When he roars as a lion, the believer turns to God as a refuge and a strong tower. When the cunning serpent hides his venom, the snare is sure to catch the unwatchful believer… For Christ's sake the blessing stood fast. Judgment followed Israel's sin, but nothing could reverse God's word of grace once spoken.
Another writer looks at what the seduction was meant to achieve.
Israel was caught in the snare of those friendly advances. Behind them stood the enemy's purpose: to destroy the character of God's people, called to "dwell alone," in separation to God… No doubt the seduction aimed to strip Israel of her distinctive position and favour with God, which Balaam had been forced to proclaim. God's thought was that His people should be separate from all the abounding evil of the nations. Balaam's doctrine was that a mixture should be made between them. Fleshly lusts and false religious activities were the instruments used.
The order of events matters.
Because of this deceit of Midian, the Lord told Moses that Israel was to harass and attack the Midianites (vv. 17-18). This did not happen at once. There were other matters to take care of first — Israel's relationship to God. Chapter 31:1-11 records the actual attack against Midian. God's rights come first; the enemy's punishment comes after.
The same writer sees a principle in that order.
Before the Lord said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the people of Israel… The New Testament says that judgment must begin at the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). And so God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way. It is a divine principle… The same holy principle appears in the Lord's word: begin with yourself before trying to correct others. Take the log out of your own eye before looking for the speck in another's.
One writer starts from the meaning of the name Midian.
The word Midian means "strife." Midian is typical of the world in its opposition to and separation from God. Midian and Moab are often seen together. Both picture the world as the enemy of God… Amalek represents the flesh with its lusts. The world and the flesh always combine to enslave God's people and rob them of their blessings.
Another writer draws the lesson for Christians.
Our proper business, as Christians, is to pass through the world as pilgrims and strangers. We have nothing to do with it except to be patient witnesses of the grace of Christ… But we fail to keep up this strict separation. We let ourselves be drawn into alliance with the world. As a result we get involved in trouble and conflict that does not belong to us at all. War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it.
- Wiles — Midian is judged for a trick, not an invasion. The enemy who could not curse Israel turned from lion to serpent.
- Aim — the friendliness aimed to end Israel's separation and mix them with the nations.
- Order — God judged the sin inside Israel first, then sentenced Midian. Judgment begins at home.
- Picture — Midian means strife and pictures the world. The world and the flesh combine to rob God's people of their blessings.
- Warning — Israel had themselves to thank for this war. Yet nothing could reverse God's word of blessing over them.